As the "Mother Church" of a diocese, a cathedral in the Roman Catholic tradition is the center of Catholic life and the principal place of worship for the community of faith. It serves as the foundation for uniting parishes and is the symbol of their communion.
The bishop is the chief shepherd, pastor and teacher in a diocese with all its priests an extension of his ministry. Similarly, every altar upon which the Eucharist is celebrated in the diocese is an extension of the cathedral's altar.
The Cathedral is the home of the bishop's cathedra, the chair from which he teaches. The cathedra represents the bishop's authority by apostolic succession.
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Even when the bishop is not present in the cathedral, the cathedra remains a sign of his apostolic role. The significance of the bishop's chair is so compelling that when Pope John Paul II visited the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament in 1987, he did not sit in the archbishop's cathedra, but in another chair marked with the papal crest. |
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